My favorite things that really have made a difference in my own healing journey
I love to take supplements when I need them. The testing we do has made such a difference in my life and so many health complaints have simply disappeared as I followed my program, even some very serious health issues. I like to know what I need and what my body does not need. I have confidence in the techniques we use in the office.
As most of you know, we need total health and well-being not just nutrition. I have formerly spoken about the five aspects of health and healing before and you can read the blog on that if you want more information. And these things have made a big difference and I like to share with clients when asked. Today, I want to share on what I have personally done.
1. Attitude has been so important. I try to ground myself with present time consciousness. Focusing on what I can do, not worrying about what I can not do. Worrying is so draining and gets you to look on the negative side. Instead, I focus on the positive side of life and a situation. What is in front of you is very important. This is my most important stress prevention strategy. Also, I love to laugh and it is said that laughter is the best medicine. Also, I try to spend time outside on purpose. Just 10 minutes outside can reduce my stress by a lot. Since I live near the forest it is literally a forest bath (the Japanese call it Forest Bathing to learn more here is a link: https://askthescientists.com/outdoors/).
2. Exercise is so obvious for a health improvement strategy. There are a bunch of different types but my favorite is bursting or what is also called HIIT (high intensity interval training). I have taught on this over 50 times in the office, but it is worth introducing because anyone can do this type of exercise. The main gist of HIIT is to get out of breath for a minute, rest for two and repeat the cycle 3 to 5 times. Three times is a total time of 8 minutes of your day. In our reverse diabetes class, we dance to a song or wiggle for the prescribed time, just about anyone in the class loved it. The best part you can do anything you want to get out of breath, a dance, a sprint, even just sit down and get up. The other spectacular thing is you get to do this every other day or every third day. It revs the metabolism and will change it up for up to 72 hours. Not bad for 8 minutes of effort! For a more challenging senario, see my Pinterest account here.
3. Eating well matters. You are what you eat, but better yet you are what you have eaten. You can change it by focusing on your eating for the future you, to become a better you. In our house, Mike and I love to eat organic, whole foods which are as local as possible. We eat whole butter, eggs, and veggies in an omelet lately for breakfast. I use standard Process shake for lunch and veggies steamed with butter and sea salt if I am rushed or chicken and broccoli stir fry. Then for dinner, we love beef or chicken with veggies and butter and broth as a base. All wholesome and can be made in advance or just minutes of prep and prepare. We love food, and each others company so often going out of our way to be together so we can eat together. Family time is so important. Good food, good company, and easy digestion. I literally eat very well, but mostly simple meals. A lot of times I find the recipes on Pinterest. You can explore on your own of just jump to mine and find thousands of ideas. Currently, I am trying to eat a combination of Weston A Price and Keto.
4. Body work has been a main stay. I get regular chiropractic and I enjoy my kind of adjusting using our new tool the impulse instrument. I love how my thinking is even clearer with Chiropractic adjustments. I feel more flexible and live almost pain free. Also a great strategy is to lift weights once to twice a week. This is a bone building effort (you lose it if you don't use it) and a muscle retention effort as I am aging and I do not want to have muscle wasting or sarcopenia. The truth is it also helps your metabolism for hours after which makes losing weight and maintaining easier. For a simple routine, I like for the beginner Slow Burn Revolution (Hahn and Eades) and also 8 minutes in the Morning Jorge Cruise or Fit for Life (Bill Phillips). These are books that are a great beginning tool for motivation and each has its merits. Pick one and go with it, or join the gym and get personal training. Weight lifting is so important for the sedentary life we may live.
5. Getting a lot of rest has been a difficult but instrumental step for me. For a very long time, I had insomnia. I have been working on trying to relax with my feet up for at least 1 hour at night before bed. It helps the lymph in my body to drain and helps me to use the bathroom before I am asleep and have to interrupt sleep to take care of this. No more 1 or 2 am trips when I wanted to sleep at that time and not allowing for the customary having a hard time going back to sleep. Also, frozen cherries help improve my Melatonin hormone levels and help me to sleep through. Deep breathing with a concentration of relaxing as I do so helps too, now I can sleep more restfully and typically get to sleep faster.
Hopefully each one of you will be inspired to try any of these strategies and add them to your own health program.
